Textbook Investment Strategies
May Not Address This Recovery

By

Ken Brown Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated Sept. 2, 2003 12:07 a.m. ET

When the economy stalls and the stock market heads down, professional investors know just what to do -- they reach for their dog-eared guidebooks that map out the strategy for playing the economic cycles.

When things are bad, they buy defensive stocks, such as drug and food companies and utilities that are relatively immune to economic doldrums. When the cycle heats up, they switch to consumer companies and car makers, which benefit...